In an exciting race, the Safety Car played a crucial role in Norris’ victory. The McLaren MCL38 had a clear advantage over Verstappen’s Red Bull RB20, otherwise the Dutch driver would have had a chance to catch the British driver after the restart. However, that was not the case.
Norris drove flawlessly and created a comfortable lead between him and the Red Bull driver. This victory was long overdue for Norris, who had a challenging weekend with disappointing performances in the Qualifying Sprint and Sprint race.
After the race, Norris expressed his excitement, stating: “What a race! It was a long journey, but we finally made it. I am incredibly happy for the whole team and what we achieved together. Despite some setbacks throughout the weekend, we managed to put it all together today. The car performed exceptionally, the strategy was perfect, and I couldn’t be happier. I am proud of everyone in the team. They always believed in me and today we proved them right. I want to thank them immensely for the hard work that made this victory possible.”
While Norris celebrated his historic victory, his teammate Piastri had a different experience on the other side of the box. Piastri did not have the full upgrade on his MCL38 this weekend, unlike Norris. However, he outperformed his teammate in the Qualifying Sprint. Things changed in the Grand Prix Qualifying, though not by a significant margin.
Unfortunately, Piastri’s race took a turn for the worse after a collision with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Sainz lost control of his car while trying to overtake Piastri’s McLaren, causing damage to Piastri’s front wing and forcing him to pit.
Although Sainz received a five-second penalty, which dropped him from fourth to fifth place in the final race standings, this did not change Piastri’s situation. He dropped in the rankings and finished in 13th place. Reflecting on his race, Piastri said: “It was a great day for the team, but a disappointing afternoon for me. We did a lot of things right in the first half of the race, but some things didn’t go as we expected in the second half. The car was fantastic, the best of the whole year. So, I think my result should not overshadow the team’s performance. Congratulations to Lando and everyone at McLaren. The win was well deserved and is promising for what’s to come.”
